Chapter 17
Within minutes, the death toll worldwide reached over a hundred thousand, with the count ticking up by the second as rescue crews worked frantically.
As those who’d initially survived succumbed to their injuries.
Chen’s wife was rushed to hospital with broken ribs caused by breaking their grandchildren’s fall with her body. Wang’s wife was barely clinging to life.
The Deputy Prime Minister of the UK was killed outright.
Pardington paled as reports flooded into the Oval Office.
Alan Zhou had apparently been trapped in an elevator as he’d made his way up to his boss’s office. He had been badly injured, but there was good reason to hope he’d survive. McAllister himself had been the first on the grisly scene at the bank of elevators.
Governments around the world moved quickly to reassure a shocked and grieving population, though all knew the words were empty. There was no reassurance possible. No safety or defense against another attack possible.
An enemy capable of dropping every elevator worldwide, capable of the mass murder of innocents on that scale, was capable of anything. Their leaders were liars.
They were on their own.
“Tim?” The President tried to control the panic in his throat. “Is he…?”
“I don’t know,” said Kathleen. “I’m trying—”
Just then his private number rang. There was sobbing at the other end. “Daddy?”